Terms and conditions for speakers

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SPEAKERS

The tcworld conference 2024 and the tekom fair are planned to take place as in-person events with online elements in the Messe Stuttgart ICS. The event will take place in this form as long as the legal requirements in Stuttgart permit it. By submitting an application for a contribution (workshop/tutorial/lecture/partner presentation/meet-up/showcase), the speakers accept the following conditions.

A. Deadline for submission

You can submit contributions for the tcworld conference 2024 (tekom-Jahrestagung 2024) up to May 22, 2024. You can also modify or withdraw contributions up to this date. The submissions of the contributions are considered to be binding as from May 23, 2024 and will be included in the selection process.
A maximum of four submissions will be accepted per speaker or company.

B. Personal submission, neutral presentation, content

The submission relates to you personally and not to a company or any other institution that you belong to.
In the event that it is selected and commissioned, you will make the contribution personally (if necessary with co-speakers) and in person at the venue.
You will cover the topic of the contribution in the scope and manner described in the application. It must be noted here that you are obliged to present the relevant topic neutrally, independent of any manufacturer or product.

C. Selection
The advisory board for conferences at Gesellschaft für Technische Kommunikation – tekom Deutschland e.V. (hereinafter tekom advisory board for conferences) alone will make a selection from the submitted contributions. Submitting a contribution does not give anyone the right to participate. You will be informed of the tekom advisory board for conferences’ decision without any reasoning being given.

D. Contractual partner, fee, and reimbursement of costs

We, tcworld GmbH, are the organizer of the tcworld conference (tekom-Jahrestagung).
If a contribution is selected by the tekom advisory board for conferences, you will receive an Agreement for Speakers from us. There is no separate reimbursement of expenses and/or travel costs. Expenditure incurred in preparing the contributions and for participant documents is also not reimbursed. For this reason, you can take part in the conference for free if the following conditions are met:

For lectures and meetups: One speaker receives a free conference ticket for three days. The first co-speaker receives free entry to the conference on the day of the presentation; all other co-speakers are required to purchase a conference ticket.
For partner presentations, tutorials, and workshops: Two speakers receive a free conference ticket for three days.
For panel discussions and showcases: All speakers receive a free conference ticket for the day of the event.
As the speaker at a workshop, you receive an expense allowance of 150.00 euros per workshop that takes place. You must submit the invoice at the latest one month after the event, addressed to tcworld GmbH.

E. Announcement and presentation

To enable us to announce the contribution and archive the content of the conference, by signing the Agreement for Speakers you are required to send us the documents specified therein in a timely manner or upload them to the tekom conference portal.
If the documents are not received on time, we reserve the right to remove the contribution from the conference program. Any reimbursement claims are voided.

F. Name, property, and exploitation rights

1. With the documents submitted as per section E, you grant the required rights of use for advertising the contributions (e.g. in print media, on social media, newsletters, mailings), inclusion in the conference program (print and online), recording and live transmission of the contributions, as well as publication of the recording and the slides on the conference portal for a defined period of time after the conference. This applies correspondingly to your name.

For the contributions during the conference at the venue
For the complete or partial live transmission to conference participants taking part digitally online
For the recorded images and sound for contributions not transmitted live and necessary processing of the recording (workshops and meet-ups are excluded)
For provision of the recordings and the presentation to the conference participants up to three months after the end of the conference
For sale of the recordings on the Internet 2 years after the end of the conference
For partial use for advertising purposes for subsequent events in print media, on our own website, third-party websites, and on social media.

2. You grant the rights of use referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 as exclusive rights of use for a period of 3 months before the start of the conference until 3 months after the end of the conference. You give an assurance that you will refrain from any use of your contributions during this period – including any form of use that goes beyond the agreed types of use. For the period thereafter, simple rights of use are granted. Unless a restriction in terms of time or place results from the type of use, the simple rights of use shall be granted without restriction in terms of time and place.

3. On request, we can provide the recording to be published on your own website.

G. Preparatory meeting for speakers
Participating in a preparatory meeting (web conference) is mandatory.

H. Satisfaction survey
We reserve the right to carry out satisfaction surveys for the conference participants using feedback forms or apps. This feedback is only intended for internal use (for the tekom advisory board for conferences) and will not be passed onto third parties. You can view the results of the collected feedback in your conference tool after the conference has ended.

I. Absence/exchange of speakers
“Exchanging” speakers is not possible. If you are unable to attend, you must inform the conference management immediately and assist in the search for a replacement speaker. We reserve the right to cancel the contribution without substitution.

J. Force majeure, conference cannot be carried out

In the event of force majeure or other serious events that result in cancellation or interruption of the conference or individual contractual services or the conference not being able to be held, both parties have the right to terminate the contract. This also applies if it is impossible as per Section 275(2) of the German Civil Code.
It is also agreed that force majeure is present if a sufficient number of participants cancel their participation in advance such that holding the conference would no longer live up to its intended spirit and purpose, and if the conference would not have been promoted or carried out to the conclusion of the contract if we had been aware of the situation and the remaining number of participants after the cancellations at the outset.
Revocation as per Section 346 of the German Civil Code occurs in all cases. Reimbursement of costs (e.g. travel costs, hotel), claims for damages, and reimbursement of expenses incurred are excluded insofar as the cancellation was not effected due to gross negligence or willful intent.
An event shall be considered force majeure if the parties would be able to deliver the event but significant reasons for reverence mean it cannot be carried out.
A reason of reverence is present if a day of mourning is officially ordered or being held, or will be undertaken imminently, in the region where the conference is located at a minimum or if a serious accident, misfortune, pandemic/epidemic, or an incident (simply called event below) occurs within 48 hours before the start of the conference and of which there is coverage in an overwhelming number of media outlets in the region where the conference is located, or if the event occurred more than 48 hours ago but there is still significant reporting in an overwhelming number of local or Germany-wide media outlets through the use of special broadcasts or special bulletins (e.g. “live ticker”), or if comparable conferences in Germany are being canceled due to the same event.
In the event of force majeure or other events regulated in the previous paragraphs, such provisions in the contract continue to apply, insofar as the contract has been otherwise terminated or unraveled, but legal issues or legal consequences have resulted even after the end of the contract (e.g. copyright, place of jurisdiction).

K. Data protection
Since personal data is also processed, please refer to the data protection declaration for speakers for further information.

L. Other

Amendments and supplements to this agreement must be made in text form.
Should any provision of this agreement be or become legally invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions of this agreement shall not be affected. The same applies if it should turn out at a later date that there is a loophole. In place of the legally invalid or unenforceable provision or in order to rectify the loophole, the parties undertake to agree on an appropriate replacement provision that, to the extent legally possible, most closely approximates the economic intent of the parties or what they would have agreed had they known about or considered the invalidity of the loophole.
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.
The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all legal disputes arising from this contract, its execution, and termination shall be Stuttgart.

Last updated 05/03/2024